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COURSE

From Chaos To Contentment

With Eliza Meadows

The focus of this course is on creating conditions that evoke states of tranquility and contentment—which has the effect of reducing stress, naturally. This course draws from the science of nervous system regulation that teaches us to direct our attention toward the supportive components of our experience, so that we can stop feeling bogged down in the vortex of what's wrong. Each lesson develops different skills to help you build the capacity to focus on what is right instead of what is wrong. Somewhat paradoxically, this increases one's capacity for challenges in general. Again, it's about creating the conditions for contentment to arise, rather than trying to force it into being. The modules have been arranged to begin with foundational skills to use when life is feeling the most chaotic for immediate relief. Each skill thereafter builds upon those that came prior. That said, the program can be approached in whatever way makes the most sense for your current lifestyle. For example, a focused 10-day commitment may be most supportive to breaking a current cycle of stress and anxiety—repeat the series three times in a row for a month-long program to build new neural pathways for lasting change (highly recommended). For others, a slower pace of repeating the same lesson each day for a week at a time will offer the most aid. The 10 sessions are designed to build upon one another, but can also be effective as stand-alone practices to be repeated again and again.

Create conditions that evoke states of tranquility and contentment as you learn to direct your attention toward the supportive components of experiences and stop feeling bogged down in the vortex of what's wrong.

10 Days

1.1k students

4.6 stars

12 min / day

English

About this course

Ho'oponopono

Self-Inquiry Practice

Journaling Practice

Meet your Teacher

Eliza Meadows

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Asheville, NC, USA

Eliza Meadows is a licensed mental health counselor and certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher. She believes wellness is defined by how deeply we honor the authentic expression of our true nature and her goal as a helper is not to “make you better,” but to help you discover that which makes you feel more alive. Eliza's treatment style has been influenced by formal training as well as personal life experiences such as world travel and long meditation retreats. She is dedicated to supporting individuals who are struggling with life circumstances, challenged by limiting beliefs, or simply have the desire to live more fully through self-inquiry for personal evolution.

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10 Days

1.1k students

4.6 stars

12 min / day

English

Lesson 1

Orientation To The Environment: A Journey Through The Sense Doors

The practice of visual orientation comes from the Organic Intelligence method of deep healing and lays the groundwork for deactivating the stress response of the nervous system. It is a foundational skill to return to again and again in any environment. An enormous amount of the stress that we experience is actually coming from our minds - not from what's happening in real-time right around us. By learning to direct your attention to the physical world around you, you're able to harness your active mind and establish a more balanced, stable, and stress-reducing perspective.

Lesson 2

Finding Ease Amidst Chaos

When undergoing a stress response, our brains are programmed to preferentially pay attention to negative or threatening aspects of our environment to help us identify the threat and find safety. Unfortunately, this rudimentary response has not had a system upgrade for our complex modern human lifestyle that requires a more nuanced approach. This session helps you see the tendency for this negativity bias and helps you learn to take in a bigger picture to include neutral and pleasant components from your experience to incline the nervous system toward a more realistic and relaxed response.

Lesson 3

Befriending The Body

The body is always in the present moment. In this session, gain trauma-informed access to the direct experience of the present through the language of sensation. You'll explore moving your awareness through the body to identify and release not only areas of tension or stress but also practice leaning into areas that feel pleasant and spacious. Expand your capacity to be with your physical experience with greater vulnerability. Eventually, you may even develop a friendship with your body and sensations can become a reliable resource to turn to when you are feeling disoriented, fuzzy, tense, or uncertain.

Lesson 4

Trust In The Breath

As long as we are alive, we have breath. Today, practice bringing your awareness back to the sensation of breath again and again as a way to have a direct experience of your aliveness. We will also use the breath as an entry point to start to work with the notion of trust. We all need something we can count on and this meditation helps us begin to open to the possibility of learning to trust by gently letting go and allowing the rhythm of your own breath to carry you along moment after moment.

Lesson 5

Tranquility As A Path To Concentration

In Buddhist practice, it is said that when the mind is agitated, one should develop the enlightenment factors of tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. Here, we aim to create conditions for these very factors to arise. Concentration is a necessary skill to develop so that we can stabilize the mind on a single object long enough to see how it follows the law of change. We reduce suffering not by blocking out or trying to change aspects of our experience but by gently allowing all parts, difficult or pleasant, to arise and pass away in their own time without resistance or distraction.

Lesson 6

Body Scan

Develop the ability to maintain concentration even while your attention is moving. We do this by attending to and relaxing into the ever-changing sensations of the body. Being more able to rest in the changing nature of the present moment builds resilience and helps you gain an openness to a greater range of what life has to offer. Additionally, learning to direct the mind where you want it to go in the body, can translate to the ability to direct your attention during a stressful situation. This ability can provide a balanced perspective and gives you the information you need to determine the best actions.

Lesson 7

Breathing In I Smile, Breathing Out I Let Go

Imbue your practice with the spirit of friendliness and kindness, as you are invited to use this time to incline the mind and heart toward self-compassion, peace, and ease. It is important to note that we are not asking that you abandon your suffering or dismiss its validity. Rather, you practice allowing yourself to temporarily let go for moments of reprieve; the struggle will be there for you when you want to come back to it. This practice also engages the science of how the body impacts the mind as you experiment with altering the facial expression and explore how it impacts your mind, mood, and heart.

Lesson 8

My Thoughts Don't Define Me

This session focuses on awareness of thought and emotion, without getting caught up in believing everything the mind is telling you. Thinking is a natural activity of the mind that we can observe without being thrown off balance. You will practice by finding tranquility and concentration in the breath and then expand your awareness to include mind states. We use the metaphor of awareness like a sky unmarked by the weather patterns that move through it. Your thoughts and emotions are the weather that can be compassionately observed and experienced without overtaking you.

Lesson 9

Uncovering Gratitude

Sometimes, it can seem like our pain has become our friend; the one thing we can count on when all else is uncertain and unreliable. In this practice, you will explore the possibility of finding gratitude not exactly for the pain, but for the wisdom of your system that offers some semblance of comfort in its reliability. This gratitude can be the buoy you need to observe it with less resistance, see it change, and access small moments of respite. You’ll practice softening, opening, and allowing the experience to move unhindered. Suffering is overcome not by changing your experience, but by lifting resistance. Gratitude lifts resistance.

Lesson 10

Loving-Kindness

The series culminates with the time-honored practice of inclining the heart and mind toward a friendliness toward self, others, and all beings. It's important to keep in mind that, paradoxically, working with the intention of loving-kindness can sometimes uncover the opposite - bitterness, shame, or unresolved emotions. For this reason, this is also considered a purification practice that can reveal unintegrated personal or interpersonal challenges. Whatever arises, trust and allow the process to unfold as it will with as much compassion as is available. It has been said that loving-kindness can be a direct path to awakening.